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Jimmy Buffett

Full Name: Jimmy Buffett

    Best known for his radio staple “Margaritaville,” Jimmy Buffett has been one of America’s most prolific and enduring recording artists over the last thirty years. He is certainly a music icon, though few thought his journey would ever cross paths with Phish. Believe it or not, though, there are a few similarities between the artists. Buffett has a slew of fervent followers who are referred to as “Parrotheads.” And lately, some critics have remarked that his long songs on recent albums do not lend themselves to radio airplay.   
    The first time most Phish fans probably experienced a Buffett-Phish connection was when listening to Junta for the first time. There, you can hear the band jokingly introduce “Sanity” (from a performance on 7/25/88) as a Buffett tune.
    Buffett was in attendance at the West Palm Beach show on 11/16/95. The band wanted to bring him out on stage for the encore; he obliged. They could only think of one song that all five musicians knew: Van Morrison’s classic “Brown Eyed Girl,” which Buffett frequently covers on-stage. And so, for all of eternity, the worlds of Phishheads and Parrotheads became forever entwined.
    Buffet also recorded a version of “Gumbo” that was released in 2001 on the Phish tribute album Sharin’ in the Groove: Celebrating the Music of Phish.